Several local news outlets recently reported that many Americans are claiming to have only received half the amount of stimulus money that they were expecting—particularly in the case of families with two income earners. The phenomenon is widespread enough that it spawned a Facebook group, “Half Stimulus Missing/Received Status,” which has more than 6,800 members as of March 22. And for more stimulus guidance, If You’re Waiting on a Stimulus Check, Read This Before Filing Your Taxes. Some of the Facebook group members noticed that there could be a chance you and your spouse may be receiving half of the stimulus at separate times. One user advised joint-filers to check the IRS’ “Get My Payment” tool twice—once with one spouse’s social security number and birth date and then again with the other spouse’s information. Several group members reported that one spouse’s payment status indicated a later date, with many reporting that date to be March 24.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb KAGS-TV, a local NBC-affiliate news channel, says that even if you checked your payment status earlier and it indicated that both spouses should receive their check on the same day, you should check it again, as some people have reported that the date for one of their payments had changed. Also, if you’re a couple with a dependent that filed jointly, some people are reporting that the $1,400 per dependent has appeared split between the two filers. So a couple who is expecting $4,200 in total may receive two separate payments of $2,100—$1,400 for each spouse and $700 for half of the dependent’s stimulus. On March 22, the IRS announced that they would be sending out the next batch of the third stimulus payments this week. “For taxpayers receiving direct deposit, this batch of payments began processing on Friday and will have an official pay date of Wednesday, March 24, with some people seeing these in their accounts earlier, potentially as provisional or pending deposit,” the agency said in its statement. “A large number of this latest batch of payments will also be mailed, so taxpayers who do not receive a direct deposit by March 24 should watch the mail carefully in the coming weeks for a paper check or a prepaid debit card, known as an Economic Impact Payment Card, or EIP Card.” And for more reasons your payment could be held up, Your Stimulus Check May Never Come If You Don’t Do This, IRS Says. Many taxpayers may not have realized that the income requirements changed for this third stimulus payment. According to The New York Times, President Joe Biden agreed to stricter income limits for this round of stimulus checks. The IRS says that because of this change, “some people won’t be eligible for the third payment, even if they received a first or second” stimulus payment. Joint-filers will start to see their payments reduced if they make $150,000 or more and any couple making more than $160,000 will be ineligible for a check. And for missing past payments, If You Never Got Your Last Stimulus Check, Experts Say Do This Now.
